After two-months of summer holidays, school zones will once again be bustling with children, parents and teachers as classes are back in session as of Tuesday.

Angel Blair with CAA reminds drivers to stay alert while passing through a school zone, obey traffic laws, and avoid distracted driving.

“These seem like common sense things, but really, that extra care and attention needs to be paid attention to when driving through a school zone, just because there are so many people, and so many little people.”

She says according to a recent CAA survey, speeding and distracted driving were the top two hazardous behaviors seen amongst drivers in school zones.

“The other thing in the report that we did say that, for students, jaywalking and the fact that they don’t look both ways was top of the list.”

Blair says most school zones require drivers to travel 30 kilometres per hour, but school zone speed limits differ from city to city, so it is important to know the rules of where you’re driving.

On the other hand, she reminds students to stop, look, and listen before crossing the street, use cross walks instead of jaywalking, and make eye contact with the drivers on the road to ensure that they see you.

“What a lot of us forget is, if you’re riding a bike, even a scooter, make sure that you get off. Dismount, and then walk them across.”

Blair says when walking across the street, making eye contact with the drivers beside you is a great way to ensure that they see you and won’t proceed through the intersection.